[woodcote]

   

Our second AFX Formula One Championship race of the Bulldog era saw us race on the West Bend layout, first used in September 2024...

   

Over to Gareth for the race report...

[Gareth]

The end of the first half of the year meant round 2 of the F1 championship.  We had 20 drivers on the grid including Oliver the Younger’s mum Maddison taking to the grid for the first time.  We also welcomed back Isaac fresh from completing university, congratulations mate!  And Ryan was back from university as well.  So good to see these guys again.

   

The West Bend layout featured a couple of good straights and fairly tight second sector that would catch the unwary. The track looked like it would be a pure Super G+ layout but maybe the Bulldogs and Mega G+s could pull their pants down.  

   

Isaac and Ryan were the first big hitters to go in race 2.  21.15 from Ryan was an absolute statement score before Oliver bumped the high point to a 22.55.    Pete, Terry, Andy, Matthew and Mike all scored some big scores as well while a huge midfield formed behind them of basically the rest of the field! 

   

At the end of the heats, Oliver took pole from Pete by a huge 3 lap margin with Ryan 3rd and Terry, Andy and Mike filling the B final.  So it was 3 Super G+s in the A Final but with a Bulldog and Mega G+ vying for the step up in the B, this promised to be super interesting.

   

[Gareth]

F Final

   

With OIiver, Adam and Maddison all heading home for Oliver’s bedtime, the F final would be our first battle with a heads up fight between Kevin (blue) and Stephen (yellow) with their Bulldogs.  I’d rebuilt Kevin’s car over the evening to give him the correct neo magnets instead of the bar magnet he was running and the narrow front end but it was still a learning experience for him.  Stephen too was still getting to grips with his car.  

Stephen led the first two laps before crashing on lap 3.  That let Kevin through and after a few cautious laps, he actually started to put in some very good times working his way down to a 5.3 by lap 14.  A late crash on lap 16 did nothing to change the race and Stephen finished 2 laps down to the winning Kevin after a very crashy race.   

   

[Gareth]

E Final

   

Chas (white) was on pole for this race taking on Rob (red), James (blue) and Kevin in yellow.  James’ Bulldog had looked fast but erratic all night and he wasted no time in grabbing this race by the scruff of the neck leading the way from lights to flag and absolutely blitzing the rest of the field.  Even with a pair of crashes, he still finished two laps clear of the rest of the field.

Rob meanwhile got away in second before a crash on lap 3 allowed Chas to get back up into p2.  We were treated to a very cautious but entertaining race as Rob tried his best to hunt down Chas but by the chequered flag he was still 1.7 seconds behind and had to settle for 3rd. 

   

Behind these two, Kevin lost 30 seconds on lap 1 with crashing and car problems which pretty much sealed his fate.  His car was also sounding incredibly rough and it is now sitting next to me awaiting some TLC.

   

[Gareth]

D Final

   

Ash (red) had got his Mega G+ to pole position for this one and he would be taking on me in blue, Tracy in white and James would step up into yellow.  It had been a tricky evening for me with good practice pace but then woeful heats.  Despite countless car rebuilds, I crashed on lap 1, 2 and 5 before parking it.  


It was James who rocketed into the lead and was really showing just how good his Bulldog is.  A string of 5 second lap times made many people sit up and pay attention!  Even more eye opening was the 4.927 he popped in for the fastest lap of the race.  That was Super G+ pace and Oliver’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline in shock.  

   

Behind him Ash crashed on lap 2 which allowed Tracy through to 2nd place, a rapidly marshalled crash on lap 6 keeping her in that position.  Ash didn’t seem to have an answer for Tracy’s pace as she edged down into the 5.9s while he was stuck in the 6.3 second lap time.  

   

But then disaster for James on lap 14 as he flew off the road and into some incredibly lengthy repairs.  It was absolutely agonising for him as Tracy took the lead and Ash passed him for 2nd.  But then it was Tracy’s turn for a late off and that was all it took for Ash to sneak through and claim the win.  A dramatic end to what should have been a dominant drive by James.

[Gareth]

C Final

   

Ash stepped up into the white lane for the C Final where he would be up against Isaac (yellow), Matthew (blue) and Kev (red). 3 Bulldogs vs Ash Mega G+.  

Kev led them away from Matthew, Isaac and Ash before Isaac passed Matthew for p2 on lap 2 with Ash crashing to leave himself mired in 4th.  

   

Both Isaac and Matthew crashed on lap 4 but were both quickly back on and continued to fight hard.  Kev then crashed on lap 7 but rejoined in the lead.  Then it was Matthew’s turn with a big crash on lap 10.  Over 20 seconds of repairs doomed him as Ash wasn’t that far behind and he passed for 3rd and was putting in some very respectable laptimes, much quicker than he drove in the D final.  

Out front Kev and Isaac were trading fastest laps; 5.1 for Isaac which he then reduced to a 5.052 which his dad edged on the same lap with a 5.044.  Then on lap 18 Isaac pumped in a 4.914 only to have his dad hit a 4.899 again on the same lap!  Crazy stuff.  Sadly Isaac couldn’t quite live with the pace and a crash on lap 19 doomed him to 2nd while Kev romped home for the win and our first 21 lap score of the finals, Ash 3rd and Matthew 4th.

   

[Gareth]

B Final 

   

So now we had 2 Bulldogs, a Mega G+ and a Super G+ for what promised to be a tasty treat of a B Final.  

Any and Mike both crashed on lap 1 while Kev got away ahead of Terry before crashing on laps 2, 3, and 4 to tumble down the order to last.  Terry was now in the lead and lapping at a steady pace with Mike now in 2nd.  

   

Andy crashing on lap 8 allowed Kev back to 3rd and he hunted down and passed Mike for p2 before another pair of crashes sent him back to last again.  Andy steadied his race and he was lapping consistently and staying on the road.  That was enough to get him back past Kev and then Mike who had a lengthy crash on lap 16.  

   

Terry meanwhile cruised to a comfortable 21 lap win but the drama wasn’t finished as Kev was pumping rapid times in and hunting down Andy, he reduced the gap from 2.1 seconds to just 0.1 at the flag.  Impressive stuff for just 5 laps of driving but agonisingly short of the p2!  

   

[Gareth]

A Final

   

Oliver (red) was feeling super confident with his dominant pole position and had Pete (blue), Ryan (yellow) and Terry (white) for company.  

   

It was Terry who got away first but the blistering pace of the other three drivers and their Super G+s swiftly demoted him to 4th place.  A cautious opening lap from Oliver had seen him at the back but once past Terry he was into a huge 3 way duel with Ryan and Pete.  Ryan slipped into the lead past the 30 second mark but then a crash on lap 11 saw him fall down to 3rd and out of the battle for the lead.  

   

Terry meanwhile had crashed on lap 8 and 9 which is why Ryan was able to retain 3rd.  A further crash on lap 11 at the same time as Ryan and he was doomed to finish 4th. 

   

Out front and we were being treated to a battle for the ages as Pete and Oliver traded fastest laps and positions.  The lead changed 6 times in just one minute which is absolutely astounding.  Oliver was driving fast but Pete went into overdrive as he dipped into the 4.8s taking the fastest lap of the evening away from Kev with his final lap of the race being a 4.813!  That blast of pace was enough to give him a 0.3 second gap and a stunning victory.  Where the heck did that come from!  

   

So it was Pete with the win and Isaac scooping top junior.  But that wasn’t the whole story of the evening as for me, several things stood out.  
   

Firstly Mike’s super effort to get a Mega G+ into the B Final.  With Keith stepping away from HO Racing at the moment, we’ve not seen a Mega G+ that high up in a while and I’m interested to see whether Mike can unlock even more from his car.

The other major headline for me was the blistering pace of Kev, Isaac and James with the Bulldog.  There is real cause for optimism that we could see a Bulldog winning an F1 race out right this year and that is very exciting indeed.  I’m not ignoring Terry in this one either as he also drove superbly with his Bulldog and a 5.1 second best lap in qualifying is really good.  
So if you don’t own a Super G+, don’t worry.  It is absolutely possible for you to win with a Bulldog even in F1.  Can’t wait to see it. 

   

Thanks as always to the set up, race control and strike down crews.    

[Gareth]

   

https://youtu.be/s_IX2tysAxU

I've just spent some time working on Kevin's ill handling Bulldog and I took the time to video it.  Hope you enjoy it, apologies for the unbalanced sound.  Must use my mic in future.